Marc Carmichael

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Marc Carmichael

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 7, 2024

Education

High school

Delta High School

Bachelor's

University of Notre Dame, 1972

Personal

Birthplace

Muncie, Ind.

Religion

United Church of Christ

Profession

Retired

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

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Personal Facebook

Marc Carmichael (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Indiana. He lost in the Democratic primary on May 7, 2024.

Carmichael completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Marc Carmichael graduated from Notre Dame. His professional experience includes working as the director of governmental affairs for the Indiana Gas Company and president of the Indiana Beverage Alliance. He retired in 2020. He previously served in the Indiana House of Representatives.

Elections

2024

See also: United States Senate election in Indiana, 2024

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Indiana

Jim Banks defeated Valerie McCray, Andy Horning, Phillip Beachy, and Antonio Alvarez in the general election for U.S. Senate Indiana on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Banks (R)	58.6	1,659,416
		Valerie McCray (D)	38.8	1,097,061
		Andy Horning (L)	2.6	73,233
		Phillip Beachy (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	168
	Submit photo	Antonio Alvarez (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	19

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,829,897
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sean Dada (Independent)
• Richard Kent (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Indiana

Valerie McCray defeated Marc Carmichael in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Indiana on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Valerie McCray	68.0	121,734
		Marc Carmichael	32.0	57,256

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 178,990
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Marshall Travis (D)
• Aleem Young (D)
• Keith Potts (D)
• RaeVen Ridgell (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Indiana

Jim Banks advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Indiana on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jim Banks	100.0	475,729

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 475,729
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Anthony Tibby (R)
• Erik Benson (R)
• Wayne Harmon (R)
• John Rust (R)
• Douglas McGuire (R)

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Indiana

Andy Horning advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Indiana on March 2, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Andy Horning (L)

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Carmichael in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Marc Carmichael completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Carmichael's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Retired Indiana statewide trade association executive. Former state legislator having defeated the Republican Speaker of the Indiana House 59-41%. Running in hopes of codifying Roe v Wade; getting military assault weapons off the streets; guaranteeing medical care to LGBTQ children via federal law; attacking climate change before it is too hot to live on Earth; confirm qualified, fair, and impartial judges; better protect teachers and librarians from being political pawns and being killed on the job; no more political tax cuts for the rich; lower drug costs and adequate medical care in the rural areas; properly taking care of our veterans, active personnel and their families; creating good paying jobs with benefits; and, reschedule marijuana from Schedule 1 to 3.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Codify Roe v Wade
• Keep military assault weapons in the hands of the military only.
• Give all our children access to the medical care they need and a climate they can live and thrive in.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Human rights, climate change, nuclear disarmament.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

The late Indiana US Senator Richard Lugar and the former Indiana US Representative Lee Hamilton.

Gentlemen, competent, hard working, bipartisan efforts, America before party legislators of the first degree.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

FDR by Jean Edward Smith.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, hard work, fair play, and hear all sides before making a decision.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Patience, experience, putting others first.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Confirm fair and honest federal judges and represent your state to the best of your abilities.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I left the world better than I found it.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Assassination of JFK. 13.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Carpenter. 5 years during high school and college.

What is your favorite book? Why?

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson. Chock full of science trivia and great writing.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jack Reacher

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Here Comes the Sun, Beatles.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Marriage, 0-3.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Disinformation, bigotry, gun violence, climate change, China, Russia, North Korea, world hunger.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

All terms have limits of 2, 4, or 6 years. Let the voters decide, that's their job. If they are doing a lousy job then term limits aren't going to change anything. If there must be limits make it 18 years and out, no running for the other chamber.

What qualities does the U.S. Senate possess that makes it unique as an institution?

100 members is a manageable number for building relationships across the aisle. Relationships are critical to bipartisan cooperation and putting the USA before party.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for senators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Somewhat.

What do you think of the filibuster?

It does more harm than good. It needs to be limited in time and with each use on the same topic the number to invoke cloture should drop by 5.

Is there a particular senator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Sen Richard Lugar

Tell us your favorite joke.

....so what do you call yourselves? The Aristocrats!

How would you evaluate a judicial nominee?

Honest? Bipartisan?

What kind of relationships would you build with other senators?

Friendships with the "work horses" that lead to bipartisan legislation that benefits us all. I want nothing to do with the "show ponies." Life is too short.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Desirable.

How should the U.S. Senate use its investigative powers?

To serve as the eyes and ears of the American public, but only when absolutely critical.

What criteria would you apply when deciding whether to confirm presidential appointees to their Cabinet?

Are they honest and would they put the good of the country over the good of their president and party.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Carmichael’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Believes women’s rights are human rights and will work to codify Roe v Wade. MORE>> Will work for a ban on the sale of military style assault weapons—the weapon of choice for the mass murderers of our children and other innocent victims, and will fight for a national red flag law. MORE>> Wants to leave our planet better than we found it for our children and grandchildren and will take immediate action on global warming. MORE>> Is concerned about the white nationalism and antisemitism growing in our country thanks to extremists’ ugly rhetoric, and is someone who believes racism is still a cancer on the United States. MORE>> Will stand up for the LGBTQ youth who are being used as political pawns by mean-spirited, calculating Republicans who needed a new social wedge issue after Roe v Wade was overturned by the Republican Supreme Court majority. These vulnerable children deserve our help, not scorn, and their healthcare decisions should be left up to their families and compassionate, qualified doctors, not political opportunists. MORE>> Is committed to confirming fair and impartial federal judges, not like the partisan appointees that have been foisted on us by Mitch McConnell, the Republican Party. We deserve judges who don’t lie to get confirmed or accept generous gifts and travel from wealthy patrons. MORE>> Is committed to no more gratuitous tax cuts for the rich and corporations who use the windfall to buy back and drive up the price of their own stock. MORE>> Believes teachers and librarians deserve our help and respect and not the threat of losing their jobs or getting shot. They shouldn’t have to fear being fired over a book or movie. MORE>> Will push for marijuana to be reclassified at the federal level from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3 Drug. MORE>> Will work to lower drug costs and bring adequate medical care to all parts of Indiana, and will push for Medicare for all citizens. MORE>> Will work for immediate immigration reform that is fair and enforceable. MORE>> Committed to helping create jobs with thriving wages and supporting organized labor. MORE>>	”
—Marc Carmichael’s campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Marc Carmichael campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. Senate Indiana	Lost primary	$119,821	$102,015
Grand total			$119,821	$102,015
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

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